The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS has reported first-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $17.55, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.4%. The metric also rose 24.3% from $14.12 a year ago.
Driven by the volatile market, Goldman posted record net revenues in Equities of $5.33 billion, which rose 27% from a year ago, while its fixed income, currencies, and commodities intermediation business, revenue fell 10% year over year to $4.01 billion. A solid dealmaking activity led investment banking (IB) fees to jump 48% to $2.84 billion in the quarter. Advisory fees saw a remarkable 89% increase in the first quarter, driven by higher completed mergers and acquisitions volumes.
Goldman’s overall results have benefited from solid revenue growth in the Global Banking & Markets, and Asset & Wealth Management divisions while profitability was underscored by an annualized return on equity (ROE) of 19.8%. However, rise in expenses and provision for credit losses were headwinds. Shares of the company fell nearly 4% in the early trading session. A full day’s trading session will depict a clearer picture.
Net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $5.40 billion, up 18% year over year.
GS’s Revenues & Expenses Increase
Net revenues were $17.23 billion, marking a 14.4% year-over-year increase and beating the consensus mark by 1.5%.
On the cost side, operating expenses were $10.43 billion, up 14% year over year. Management attributed the increase largely to significantly higher transaction-based expenses and higher compensation and benefits costs, reflecting improved operating performance.
Even with higher costs, the efficiency ratio in the first quarter of 2026 was essentially unchanged at 60.5%, indicating that the revenue momentum broadly kept pace with expense growth.
Provision for credit losses was $315 million, up from $287 million in the year-ago quarter, and was attributed primarily to growth and impairments related to wholesale loans. This contrasted with the prior quarter, which benefited from a large reserve reduction related to the Apple Card loan transfer.
Goldman’s Quarterly Segmental Performance
Asset & Wealth Management business generated net revenues of $4.08 billion, up 10% from the prior-year quarter. The improvement primarily reflected higher management and other fees, which benefited from higher average assets under supervision, partially offset by softer Private banking and lending, driven by lower deposit spreads related to Marcus deposits.
The quarter also featured continued scale gains in the franchise. Total assets under supervision increased to a record $3.65 trillion at the quarter’s end, with $87 billion of total net inflows and $62 billion of long-term net inflows, spanning wealth management, third-party distributed and institutional channels.
Global Banking & Markets business produced net revenues of $12.74 billion in the quarter, up 19% from the year-ago period. The improvement was driven by a rise in net revenues in Equities (including an increase in net revenues in financing) and advisory revenues. However, lower fixed income, currency and commodities offset the rise.
Platform Solutions business posted net revenues of $411 million for the quarter compared with $610 million a year ago. The decline was attributed to net markdowns in net revenues tied to the Apple Card loan portfolio, which had been transferred to held for sale in 2025.
GS’ Balance Sheet & Capital Position
Goldman ended first-quarter 2026 with total assets of $2.06 trillion versus $1.81 trillion at the end of fourth quarter 2025, while deposits rose to $561 billion from $501 billion in the prior quarter.
Capital ratios moved lower sequentially. The standardized CET1 capital ratio was 12.5% at March 31, 2026, down from 14.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The supplementary leverage ratio was 4.6% versus 5.2% in the prior quarter.
In the quarter, the firm returned $6.38 billion in capital to common shareholders, including $5 billion in common share repurchases and $1.38 billion in common stock dividends.
Our View on GS
Goldman’s first-quarter 2026 results reflect continued strength in trading and investment banking, supported by active client engagement and improving deal activity. Solid equities and advisory performance drove earnings growth. However, elevated expenses remain near-term concerns. Still, the firm’s robust capital position, diversified revenue base and its leadership position in the IB business will support long-term growth. Also, the company's recent acquisition of Industry Ventures and Innovator Capital Management solidify its position in the global alternatives market and position it well for future growth.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Quote
Currently, Goldman carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Earnings Dates of GS’s Peers
JPMorgan JPM is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 results on April 14.
Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for JPM’s quarterly earnings has been revised downward to $5.46. The estimated figure indicates 7.7% growth from the prior-year quarter.
Morgan Stanley MS is slated to announce first-quarter 2026 results on April 15.
Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MS’ quarterly earnings has been revised downward to $3.06. This implies a 17.7% rise from the prior-year quarter.
(We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on April 13, 2026, should no longer be relied upon.)
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).